How to Prepare Your Business for a Disaster

A year ago, when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast of the United States, it reinforced the fact that disaster planning is an inherently difficult proposition. Businesses large and small were shut down for days or weeks as data centers went dark and networks failed. In addition, many organizations found that it was impossible to communicate effectively with employees, customers and business partners, while others found that they were exposed to potential data leaks and other security threats. Adam Simpson, CEO of Easy Office Phone, says that businesses need more than a basic disaster recovery (DR) strategy. They need to address the challenge on several fronts and understand how business partners and others can be affected by disasters. "Even major corporations can suffer in extreme circumstances," he points out. "During Hurricane Sandy, several backbone providers that underlie the country's entire communications infrastructure were down for extended periods of time." Here are Simpson's suggestions for the best ways to remain operational during a disaster.

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Establish a Protocol

Ensure that employees know what to do prior to a disaster. Develop a simple checklist and make sure they all have a copy.

Assess the Business Continuity Plan

Determine which activities are mission-critical and apply worst-case infrastructure scenarios to see how the plan holds up.

Evaluate Your Phone Service

A cloud-based phone service increases the odds that a main phone number will be available and someone will be reachable.

Get Backup Numbers From Your Staff

Create a staff contact list that includes cell and home numbers, and personal e-mail addresses. Consider a contact tree.

Place Key Documents in the Cloud

Identify critical documents and ensure they're available from PCs and mobile devices through cloud-based storage.

Back Up in the Cloud Regularly

Back up key documents in the cloud on a regular basis. Establish directories and folders that make it easy to find files.

Use RAID Architecture

Cloud-based storage and RAID create a high level of redundancy and help ensure that key data will be available.

Rely on Data Loss Protection

During a disaster, storage systems could be exposed to outsiders, but DLP software can help protect data.

Support Remote Work

Consider using a VPN and a virtualized IT environment that supports access to IP-based phones, email, applications and other services.

Put Someone in Charge

Establish a clear leader for developing a disaster plan and make sure that the same person is in charge during the disaster.